Week 9: USA (Unit 9 – Social Movements of the 1960′s)

April 17th, 2009

For my students at the Hunan Institute of Science & Technology ( 湖南理工学院 ) who are taking the course: “The Society and Culture of Major English-Speaking Countries ( 英语国家社会与文化入门 ) : An Introduction (Book Two / Second Edition)

This week’s lesson covered unit 9  from the textbook which is about Social Movements of the 1960′s.  We took a look at what is meant by “social movement” and then we discussed briefly why the 1960′s were so active with social movements.  The remainder of the class dealt with the three main movements of the 60′s; The Civil Rights Movement, The Women’s Rights Movement, and the Youth / Anti-War Movement (aka Hippie Movement.)

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If you would like to have the Presentation Notes from this week’s class, click on the link to view or download them.

Week 8: USA (Unit 8 – American Education)

April 10th, 2009

For my students at the Hunan Institute of Science & Technology ( 湖南理工学院 ) who are taking the course: “The Society and Culture of Major English-Speaking Countries ( 英语国家社会与文化入门 ) : An Introduction (Book Two / Second Edition)

This week’s lesson covered unit 8  from the textbook which is about the American Education System.  We took a look at a brief history of education in America from the 17th century until today.  I pointed out that much of the info in the textbook is sorely out of date (most statistics were from the mid 80′s!) so we spent the remainder of our class time discussing the current status of things in today’s education system in America.

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If you would like to have the Presentation Notes from this week’s class, click on the link to view or download them.

Week 7: USA (Unit 7 – American Lit)

April 3rd, 2009

For my students at the Hunan Institute of Science & Technology ( 湖南理工学院 ) who are taking the course: “The Society and Culture of Major English-Speaking Countries ( 英语国家社会与文化入门 ) : An Introduction (Book Two / Second Edition)

This week’s lesson covered unit 7  from the textbook which is about American Literature.  We actually didn’t discuss much American Lit in the lecture – I did point out some highlights and some things to note for the final exam.  However, most of our class time was used on logistics for the Mid Term Projects that are coming up.

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If you would like to have the Presentation Notes from this week’s class, click on the link to view or download them.

Week 6: USA (Unit 6 – Religion)

March 27th, 2009

For my students at the Hunan Institute of Science & Technology ( 湖南理工学院 ) who are taking the course: “The Society and Culture of Major English-Speaking Countries ( 英语国家社会与文化入门 ) : An Introduction (Book Two / Second Edition)

This week’s lesson covered unit 6 from the textbook and the lecture was an overview of Religion in the United States of America.  We covered religious diversity in America today, described the most popular religions in America and discussed current trends surrounding religion.

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If you would like to have the Presentation Notes from this week’s class, click on the link to view or download them.

Week 5: USA (Unit 5 – Economy)

March 20th, 2009

For my students at the Hunan Institute of Science & Technology ( 湖南理工学院 ) who are taking the course: “The Society and Culture of Major English-Speaking Countries ( 英语国家社会与文化入门 ) : An Introduction (Book Two / Second Edition)

This week’s lesson covered unit 5 from the textbook and the lecture was an overview of The economy of the United States of America.  We covered the fundamentals of the USA’s economy and discussed some of the unique characteristics that set it apart from other economies around the world, including China’s.

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If you would like to have the Presentation Notes from this week’s class, click on the link to view or download them.

Week 4: USA (Unit 4 – Political System)

March 13th, 2009

For my students at the Hunan Institute of Science & Technology ( 湖南理工学院 ) who are taking the course: “The Society and Culture of Major English-Speaking Countries ( 英语国家社会与文化入门 ) : An Introduction (Book Two / Second Edition)

This week’s lesson covered unit 4 from the textbook and the lecture was an overview of The political system of the United States of America.  We covered a range of topics including the formation of the USA’s government as well as some of the fundamentals of how the USA’s political system works.

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If you would like to have the Presentation Notes from this week’s class, click on the link to view or download them.

Teaching Update

March 11th, 2009

Many things have been happening with Hunan Cross-Cultural Education (but almost nothing has been happening here on the blog!)

I (Stephen) have begun teaching the second part of the “Society & Culture” class that I taught last semester at HIST.  Preparations for our summer culture exchange program are in full swing.  It looks like we are going to fill all of our openings – this is GREAT!

I still need to finalize the curriculum for our summer program… This is fun stuff!

Week 3: USA (Unit 3 – American Beginnings)

March 6th, 2009

For my students at the Hunan Institute of Science & Technology ( 湖南理工学院 ) who are taking the course: “The Society and Culture of Major English-Speaking Countries ( 英语国家社会与文化入门 ) : An Introduction (Book Two / Second Edition)

This week’s lesson covered unit 3 from the textbook and the lecture was an overview of The United States of America’s ‘Beginnings’.  (The text inaccurately refers to this as “American Beginnings”)

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If you would like to have the Presentation Notes from this week’s class, click on the link to view or download them.

Week 2: New Zealand (Units 1 & 2)

February 27th, 2009

For my students at the Hunan Institute of Science & Technology ( 湖南理工学院 ) who are taking the course: “The Society and Culture of Major English-Speaking Countries ( 英语国家社会与文化入门 ) : An Introduction (Book Two / Second Edition)

This week’s lesson covered units 1 & 2 from the textbook and the lecture was an overview of New Zealand’s history, politics, major elements of NZ society and unique cultural characteristics.

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If you would like to have the Presentation Notes from this week’s class, click on the link to view or download them.

Merry Christmas!

December 25th, 2008

I just wanted to take a minute to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!